Tuesday, December 19, 2017

16.) The Christmas Waltz

Song number 16 is The Christmas Waltz by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. This song was written for Frank Sinatra and appears on three of his Christmas albums. I came to enjoy the song last year during the holiday season.

I'm a little ambivalent about including a Christmas song in the collection, but I have a few reasons for validating it. First, the song is written by Cahn and Styne who were a famous songwriting team who wrote a lot of songs that I love and are standards hands down, such as I Fall In Love Too Easily and Time After Time. So the composers fit the bill.

Second, Christmas music has always been special music for me. I not one of those who find it annoying, especially the classic albums. This time of year was magical when I was a kid. And it probably was the most important time for music in our household. It was played constantly from Thanksgiving until New Years, and it brought us a lot of cheer. Standout Christmas albums from when I was a kid are The Beach Boys Christmas, John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas, and the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas. Now when I hear these albums they bring me back to childhood memories. They make December feel a little more like it used to - exciting instead of busy as heck.

I worry a little that listeners might be annoyed to hear a Christmas song at other times of year, since it will be placed on an album of all different stuff. But this song is not one of those Christmas songs like Rudolph or Jingle Bells that everybody recognizes instantly although it has been pretty widely recorded. And for those that do know it well, my hope is that it will be a little reminder of winter when you hear it in July. I've come enjoy these kind of seasonal reminders.

In any case, I think it's a nice song. I hope you enjoy it in this holiday season and beyond. Happy Holidays!